Nana Akufo-Addo's full IEA Speech

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Created on Tuesday, 21 August 2012 00:00

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Nana Akufo-Addo's full IEA Speech

{sidebar id=14} Chairperson, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, fellow Ghanaians, good evening.

This event was to have taken place two weeks ago, but was postponed at my request when President Mills passed away. May he rest in perfect peace.

Ghanaians should be proud that together we are building a democratic state, a Ghana being governed by the rule of law. We have just gone through a unique period in our history, dealing with the death in office of a sitting President. When put to the test, our democratic institutions rose to the occasion. The transfer of the Presidency was peaceful, smooth and constitutional and we should all be encouraged by the way the system worked. It strengthens those of us who have fought all our lives for democracy to flourish in Ghana, for it shows that constitutional democracy is the best form of governance for our beloved nation. We must cherish and protect these precious democratic values, which form the basis for the unity and progress of our country. We may have our differences, but what joins us together is more important. We are One Ghana and I am totally committed to working to ensure peace and unity for the Ghana project. I congratulate our new President and new Vice President on their assumption of office and wish them well in their brief, caretaker role. Their most important responsibility to Ghana is to ensure that we have a peaceful, free and fair election in December. Ghanaians expect nothing less.

{sidebar id=11 align=right}My party and I are totally devoted to Ghana’s peace and stability, as we have always been. We, famously, demonstrated this in 2008 when, despite the narrowest of losing margins, we did nothing to jeopardise the stability of the nation and lived up to my pledge of not allowing a single drop of Ghanaian blood to be shed. I pray to God that all other stakeholders, especially the Electoral Commission, the ruling party and the security agencies, also make a genuine commitment to work towards a peaceful election, one that is free from fraud, intimidation, harassment and violence.

I thank the IEA for organising this event and commend them on their continuing commitment to the development of democracy in our country. I welcome this opportunity to talk about my party’s programmes for the December elections.

Over the last 2 years, I’ve been going around the country on my various tours, meeting Ghanaians in their homes, workplaces, farms, markets, lorry stations, at organised functions and sometimes at unscheduled stops; and I have heard their stories and seen their conditions. I read the numerous comments on my facebook page, and in our newspapers, and hear comments on radio and television.

What I see, hear and read makes me more and more convinced that we have to change the way we do things and transform our economy into a new one – a new economy that will help us give our children good education, create jobs, provide good healthcare, feed ourselves adequately, and give every Ghanaian an opportunity for a good life.

I recall the sad story of a 17 year-old boy in Akwasiho, in Abetifi, in the Eastern Region, who said he dropped out of school because his parents couldn’t pay his senior high school education. This particular boy’s story stays with me mostly because of the sound of desperation in his voice. There are thousands and thousands like him. I met Kwame Osei, in Suproano in the Anhwiaso Bekwai District, Western Region. He is a cocoa farmer and at age 42, he should be one of our success stories. But he said, “the cost of fertilizer and pesticides, coupled with the collapse of mass spraying, is making life very hard.” At the Sango Beach, here in Accra, fishermen were downhearted and frustrated. Their major complaints were about the increasing cost of fishing equipment and inputs. Outboard motors that cost GH¢2,900 in 2008 now cost GH¢8,000 - in single digit inflation Ghana.

Esinam told me in Vakpo, in the Volta Region, that her problem was the collapsing National Health Insurance Scheme. She said, “NHIS egblen!” Young men and women everywhere I go are crying for jobs, and they are desperate for someone to give them hope for a meaningful future.

The black market trade in foreign currency is back as the cedi continues to fall against all major currencies. Business people complain of the rising cost of business, poor sales, lack of credit and support to grow their businesses.

Ghanaians are clearly unhappy and dissatisfied with the conditions of their lives. And, yet, the town criers of NDC propaganda tell us we are living today in better times.

My life has been about service to people. This has been my driving force as a lawyer, as a political activist against military rule, as a campaigner for human rights and democracy, as a Member of Parliament, as Attorney General and as Minister for Foreign Affairs. In between these endeavours, I have also been in business and done reasonably well. Twenty years ago, I was excited by the potential of mobile telephones and played a pioneering role in bringing the first mobile telephony company, Mobitel, to Ghana, which started an industry that has transformed the lives of millions of Ghanaians. As a lawyer, I mentored many young people who are now among the leading lawyers of our country. It is these various roles and experiences that I believe, in all humility, have prepared me for the serious job of the Presidency.

{sidebar id=12 align=right}My goal is to provide transformational leadership and help build a prosperous society, which creates opportunities for all its citizens, rewards creativity and enterprise, honesty and hard work, a society where there is discipline and fairness, where people go about their lives in a free and responsible manner, a society where there are safety nets for the vulnerable and decent retirement for the elderly, an open society protected by well-resourced and motivated security services and where the rule of law works.

For this to happen, Ghana needs effective leadership, leadership which is honest, competent and determined to deliver. A leadership of conviction – which is committed to fighting corruption and dedicated to the welfare and wellbeing of the Ghanaian. It is clear that corruption has become rampant in these last few years, robbing us of much needed resources for our development. I am determined to fight corruption aggressively, and I can do so, because I am not corrupt, have never been corrupt, and will demand the same of my team. Accountability and transparency are the hallmarks of good governance. Ghana needs this, Ghana deserves this and I, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, pledge to deliver this to the good people of Ghana.

The people of this country have to be healthy, if we are to make any meaningful progress in nation-building. The last NPP government introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme to remove the constant fear of falling ill under the inhumane Cash & Carry system. It has been painful to watch the NDC government try its best to collapse the NHIS, whilst struggling to implement their unrealistic one-time premium promise. Today, the fear of getting sick is back. The NHIS has been degraded and Cash & Carry is back.

Fellow citizens, we will revive and restore confidence in the NHIS. Our goal is to achieve universal coverage of the NHIS for all Ghanaians. The NPP will spend more on public-health education and primary healthcare.

We shall expand health facilities and increase the training of health workers; we have done it before, increasing it by seven-fold in just six years. Our priority is to train our medical professionals locally. Recently, a scheme, operated by then Vice President Mahama, sent 250 people to Cuba to be trained as doctors and para-medics, at a cost of GH¢106,000 each. We could have trained them at GH¢30,000 each, according to the Ghana Medical Association. We will rather invest in our medical schools to train a lot more doctors here in Ghana.

If good health is basic to our survival, good education is critical to our development. Education creates social mobility; Market women and fishermen, farmers and traders, taxi drivers and artisans, hawkers and kayayei, and, indeed, every mother and father, all hope that education will help their children escape poverty and give them access to a good life.

Education is at the heart of the NPP programme. We cannot transform the economy and the country without transforming the knowledge and skills of our people. Every child, rich or poor, able-bodied or disabled, deserves a good education.

Currently, at every stage of education, our children are falling out of the system. To our eternal shame, some children born in this country never even make it to a classroom. Then, of the numbers that do start school, over 60 per cent of them do not make it to secondary school. The situation has become significantly worse over the last three years, with even fewer children (47% as against 62% in 2008) passing the BECE. In some villages, not a single child passes the exam. Every year, more than 150,000 young Ghanaians leave school at JHS level without any opportunities for further education or training. This is dangerous!

To change this situation, we will redefine basic education and make it compulsory from Kindergarten to Senior High School. To ensure that no child is denied access to secondary education, we will remove the biggest obstacles that currently stand in their way: cost and access. In addition to tuition and other costs already borne by government, admission, library, computer, science centre and examination fees will all be free. So will boarding, feeding and entertainment fees, along with textbooks and utilities. In order to ensure equity, day students will also be fed at school free of charge. Free secondary school education will cover Technical and Vocational institutions.

I know this will be expensive. But, as the Ewe saying has it, “you cook important foods in important pots.” The cost of providing free secondary school education will be cheaper than the cost of the current alternative of a largely uneducated and unskilled workforce that retards our development. Leadership is about choices – I will choose to invest in the future of our youth and of our country.

Fellow citizens, I know numbers can be boring, but these are important numbers. The additional cost of providing Free Senior High School will be around 1% of Ghana’s GDP. The cost of providing free secondary school education, which includes tuition, boarding, feeding and all the other charges for the 2013-2014 academic year, is estimated at 0.1% of our GDP. This translates into some GH¢78 million. We have made provision for a major increase in enrollment as a result of admitting all JHS students into SHS in 2014-2015. We expect the cost to rise to GH¢288 million (0.3% of GDP) in that academic year and increase to GH¢774 million in 2015-2016 (0.7% of GDP). Additional expenditure on more teachers, infrastructure for schools, including expanding and rehabilitating existing infrastructure, and establishing cluster schools in areas where there are no Senior High Schools, will bring the total cost to GH¢755 million (0.9% of GDP) in 2013 and rise to GH¢1.45 billion (1.3% of GDP) in 2016. Providing free secondary education will increase the total educational expenditure from the 4.1% of GDP in 2012 to 5.8% by 2016, a figure which is still below the UNESCO minimum of 6%. I am prepared to go beyond that in order to improve quality at all levels – Primary, JHS, SHS, and Tertiary.

Countries that have taken deliberate, successful steps to improve their economies have spent substantial amounts of their national income on education. For example, in 1960, during its post-war transformation, Japan spent 21.4% of its GDP on education and Malaysia, at an equivalent period in 1990, spent 15.3% of its GDP. On our continent, a number of African countries are doing better than us. Kenya spends 6.7% of its GDP on education, South Africa 6% and even tiny Lesotho puts us to shame by spending 13% of its GDP on education. We may be able to beat them at football, but not in education.

Let me put this into context; the NDC admits to paying out some GH¢640 million, equivalent to 1.4% of Ghana's 2010 GDP, as judgement debts. Are we telling parents and their children that a Ghana that can afford to spend 1.4% of its income on judgement debts cannot afford to spend an additional 1.3% of its income on giving its children free secondary education?

We know how to fund it. A percentage of the oil revenues allocated to the Ghana National Petroleum Company, and for the funding of the budget, as well as a greater percentage from GETFund, will be used to finance the programme.

These plans can only work with the enthusiastic support of a well-trained and motivated teaching workforce. We do not have enough teachers and many are not happy with their lot. Last year, the Minister for Education said there was a 60,000-teacher deficit in the country. The NPP will attract, train and retain young professionals into the teaching profession. We will make it easier for teachers to upgrade their skills, improve their status and provide them with incentives . For example, any teacher with 10 or more years of service will be eligible for a mortgage scheme, supported by government, for a home anywhere in the country. We shall endeavour to make teaching in the rural areas, in particular, less stressful by providing accommodation and transportation. It is obvious that the scope of our modern lives has placed extra responsibilities on our teachers. With most families now made up of both parents going out to work, children spend much longer periods at school and teachers have to see to their moral as well as academic upbringing. Society must recognise this and accord our teachers the necessary incentives. That is why an Akufo-Addo presidency, God-willing, will introduce a Teacher First policy to give teachers the recognition they deserve. Free education must be achieved, hand in hand, with quality education and we shall work with the religious bodies to ensure equal weight is attached to the moral upbringing of our children. We also acknowledge the important work the private schools are doing, and we will work with them to improve delivery.

Our young people need skills for the job market. We need apprenticeship schemes that teach skills and guarantee quality. We will borrow from the experiences of countries that have industrialised with the skills of artisans. On a recent trip to Germany, I explored the possibilities of collaboration so that we can bring home the apprenticeship models, which have helped Germany make quality products that are famed around the world.

The 2008 Education Act made provisions for apprenticeship schemes. We will implement them. Technical and Vocational Institutions will be increased, equipped and enhanced to help fill the critical skills gap required to industrialise Ghana. At the higher level, education must produce technical, professional and managerial personnel to drive Ghana’s industrialisation and transformation.

We shall formalise collaboration between government, the private sector, teachers’ associations and institutions of higher learning, including polytechnics, for manpower planning and needs and, thereby, address this new, unwelcome phenomenon of rising levels of graduate unemployment. We will put greater emphasis on research and development, science and technology, to provide the nuts and bolts for the new economy.

The number of people, especially young people, without jobs in our country is frightening. Our much-touted economic growth has not translated into jobs and incomes for the people beyond the government propaganda of creating 1.7 million ghost jobs, which even the sector Minister could not find.

The hard truth is that the current size and structure of our economy is not big enough to provide the jobs that are needed. If we want a different result, then we have to do things differently, and we have to do them urgently. We have to make a deliberate effort to move on from the Guggisberg, raw material-exporting economy to a new economy that can deliver prosperity for our people. We will encourage importers and Ghanaians abroad to shift from bringing in finished products to bringing in the know-how, tools and capital inputs that will enable us produce finished goods right here in Ghana. The long-term solution for the stability of our cedi is industrialisation.

Right now, if you go to the market and just look, the absurdity of our situation is bound to hit you. We allow our fruits to rot and import fruit juice. My government, God willing, will give new impetus to value-addition. In the next two decades, the population of West Africa is estimated to reach some 500 million people. The NPP is fully committed to the ECOWAS integration project, for Ghana has the potential to be at the centre of economic activities for this vast regional market. My message to the youth of today, is, if we start preparing now, by transforming our education, our skill-sets and our economy, we will transform forever your lives and that of generations yet to come.

We have to modernise our agriculture and process our agricultural products. The models implemented by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), which we formulated when we were in government, have been shown to work. We will use them to end the disgraceful situation of food crop farmers being amongst the poorest segment of the population. A major plank of our agricultural policy will be to achieve food self-sufficiency. Both commercial and small-scale farmers will be supported to improve their output and develop their business.

The value of the minerals in our country, including salt, is estimated to be in excess of US$1 trillion. We have developed plans to add value to them. We will attract the necessary capital to mine our bauxite to build a multi-billion dollar integrated aluminium industry, as envisaged by the Kufuor government. We will use a similar model to exploit our iron ore deposits and build urgently a new iron and steel industry, which can also process West African ore currently being shipped to Europe for refining.

Presently, our oil refinery is not working. The NDC government is wilfully starving it only to import finished products. The NPP will change this. We will use the oil & gas find to build a strong petrochemical industry in Ghana, using both private and public financing, and create linkages with other businesses to turn Ghana into a centre for light industry in our region.

I believe that, beyond a competent, incorruptible leadership, the best instrument for achieving economic transformation is the private sector. We shall vigorously assist all our enterprises, especially small and medium scale ones, both in the formal and informal sectors, to grow – by helping them gain access to credit, technology and markets. Much greater attention will be paid to indigenous and local businesses to expand and create jobs for our young men and women. Ghanaian businesses will play the lead role in public procurement. The tax and tariff systems will be restructured to promote growth in the private sector. Policies will be introduced that will encourage banks to support the transformation agenda. We will strengthen the regulatory bodies to do the job of protecting consumers and improving standards. We will empower Ghanaians to do the job of transforming Ghana. We will make Ghana the place to do business, and make businesses in Ghana globally competitive. We shall forge a strong partnership with organised labour to achieve this. This is how we will create the hundreds of thousands of jobs for which the young people of our country are yearning. This is the only way to break the hand to mouth existence and free our people to aspire to greater heights. We can do it.

All of this requires a support infrastructure. Power cuts, lack of water, inadequate roads and transport, bad drainage and sanitation all affect business, frustrate lives and hold us back.

To accelerate our development, spending on infrastructure over the next decade will average some GH¢14 billion a year. We will do this by managing government resources and projects efficiently and attracting substantial capital from the private sector – in public-private partnership initiatives. Our infrastructure programme includes the development of roads, water supplies, sanitation, railways, ports, airports, and our plan to triple the irrigation of arable land and to complete a nationwide fibre optic backbone to facilitate effective and efficient ICT access. Critical to all this will be a dramatic expansion and supply of reliable power to support the transformation agenda.

Let me, in closing, mention the problem of housing. We have to resolve the appalling accommodation situation where over 50 per cent of Ghanaians live in sub-standard houses, deprived inner city dwellings, uncompleted houses, containers, kiosks, pavements and other unsuitable structures and the majority of tenants face the payment of huge advance rents especially in our cities. I will commit my government to complete the affordable housing project that was started by the Kufuor government and abandoned by the NDC. With the private sector, we will build more decent, affordable homes for working Ghanaians. They would range from hostels and bedsits to flats and houses.

Chairperson, this has been a summary of a few of the essential things that an NPP government, under my leadership, will do to improve people’s lives. Be assured that we will stabilise the sinking cedi, bring back business confidence and make investing in Ghana attractive to both local and foreign investors. We have spent time getting our plans right. Doubtless that must account for how the original theme of our manifesto, ‘PEOPLE MATTER, YOU MATTER’, was pinched by our opponents…. But I take the view that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and we wish them well.

I have a team, a dynamic and competent team, to implement plans designed to transform the lives of our people and develop in Ghana, a free, democratic, modern African state – one that can hold its own in a competitive world. I am privileged to have a deep pool of talent of men and women in the NPP to draw from, as well as from the broad spectrum of Ghanaian talent, home and abroad, to turn the dreams of freedom and prosperity of our forefathers into reality.

We have a clear vision of where we want to take Ghana and a detailed road map of how to get there. But in order to make the journey we, humbly, need you, fellow citizens and fellow Ghanaians, to make a decisive choice on December 7th and give us your mandate. Together, we will transform Ghana, and use all the blessings that the Almighty has bestowed on us to bring prosperity to our people and nation.

I do not underestimate the challenges we face in trying to achieve these goals, especially since many of you do not trust politicians, because of the many broken promises. But, I want you, the Ghanaian people, to give me the opportunity to serve you differently. I want you to trust me. I am no stranger to you. I have stood with you all my adult life, fighting for our individual and collective rights. I am proud of what we have so far achieved in political and civil rights. The next struggle is for economic progress: transforming our economy for opportunities and prosperity for us all, regardless of the circumstances of our birth. I am strong in my conviction and confident that we can do it. I know we are capable. Let us be strong and courageous. God did not put us on this rich land to be poor. It is bad leadership that makes us poor. So let us change now! and move Ghana forward together. I believe in you. I believe in the can-do spirit of Ghanaians. I believe in Ghana. And, above all, I believe in God.

God bless you

God bless the Fourth Republic

God bless Ghana and Mother Africa

Thank you.

Nana Akufo-Addo

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FULL SPEECH : President John Dramani Mahama's Nationwide Address

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Created on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 00:00

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President John Dramani Mahama's Nationwide Address

{sidebar id=8} FULL SPEECH, WEDNESDAY 15 AUGUST 2012

Five days ago, all of Ghana, Africa and, indeed, the world, bade farewell to the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills, our leader, our president and Commander-in-Chief. May his soul rest in perfect and everlasting peace.

I would like, tonight, to thank the family of our departed Professor Mills, the funeral committee, members of Parliament, the Judiciary, the security services and the members of the numerous other committees and organisations, as well as the various individuals who took part in the funeral of our late president. It was a homegoing celebration that turned out to be not only fitting, but flawless.

{sidebar id=11 align=right}I would like, also, to express my heartfelt gratitude to every single Ghanaian for the tremendous outpouring of support, kindness and love that was displayed—even in the midst of our collective grief. The depth of our loss was made evident, as was the depth of our respect and appreciation for the life and work of Professor Mills.

Though I have always been proud to be a Ghanaian, over the course of the past three weeks, as I watched our country coming together to mourn, to remember and to reconcile, I felt that pride in an even more profound way.

Over the course of the past three weeks much has been mentioned, by me and by several others, about our impressive show of unity during this time of unimaginable tragedy.

There are some who believe that this feeling of goodwill we have towards one another will fade sooner rather than later; and that so, too, will the unity that it has produced. I don’t share that belief.

There is no reason why we cannot continue to stand united, and to move forward as one. There is no reason why our differences have to divide us or turn us into adversaries, especially not our political differences.

When it comes to the practice of peace and unity, we Ghanaians have always been exemplary.

Whether we support Hearts of Oak or Asante Kotoko, when it’s time for the Black Stars to play, we are indivisible.

When other nations descended into ethnic rivalries and warfare, we Ghanaians worked and laughed, ate and lived together without regard to ethnic background.

When other nations allowed religious intolerance to turn to violence, we embraced our brothers and sisters of differing faiths, wishing them Good Friday and Happy Easter, or Ramadan Mubarak.

And let me take the opportunity at this point to say “Barka da Sallah”, in advance, to all our countrymen and women who will be celebrating the end of the Holy month of Ramadan this weekend.

The reason we have always been exemplary in our expression of peace and tolerance is because we Ghanaians have always been aware that standing united is not the same as standing unanimously.

We don’t all have to come from the same place or adhere to the same philosophy or to see situations from the same point of view in order to be of service to our country, or to work together to create progress.

Our differences of identity, differences of opinion and differences of political party or ideology must never overshadow our patriotism as Ghanaians.

There have been times in the recent past when it seemed as though we had forgotten this simple yet powerful truth. But over the course of the past three weeks, we were reminded of it again and again.

And this remembrance of who we are as Ghanaians, of who we have always been, has ushered us into a new arena of hope and possibility.

I consider it my responsibility as your President to ensure that our Government emphasizes, appreciates and protects our unity in diversity.

My Brothers and Sisters, let us take the opportunity provided by our unity at this difficult time to build on the legacy that was created by Professor Mills, and the legacies that were created by the presidents who served before him, in order to move forward and claim our destiny. It is a destiny that springs forth from a foundation built on tolerance, fairness, compassion, humility, decency, strength and resilience.

{sidebar id=10 align=right}The best tribute we can pay the memory of our departed president would be to continue to keep the flame of peace burning. I hereby use this occasion to urge all political actors to use the unprecedented event of Professor Mill”s passing, which so united our nation in grief, to effectively refocus Ghanaian politics and alter its tone for ever.

I believe there is space in the political arena to compete for political leadership in an atmosphere of decency and dignity. It is said, that “politics is a dirty game.” I daresay, it is us politicians who make it so.

We have arrived at this point in history through our collective effort. Let us together tap all the rich and diverse talent and resources available to our nation to spur its accelerated development.

Although together we have made great strides as a country over the past two decades, I am very much aware that there are places within this country where our people lack access to the productive economic, health and social infrastructure that will help them make the most of their opportunities and create a decent life for themselves and their families.

Together, we can change this.

Fellow countrymen and women, in the next two weeks I will present an agenda to the nation on some policy measures we must take to consolidate the progress we have made as a nation.

I wish to preside over a country whose ethnically divergent people are its greatest source of strength; a country whose energies will be concentrated in extracting the most extraordinary aspects of our differences and transforming them into a source of growth and enterprise creation.

I encourage our young people, both men and women, to embrace these qualities in all that they do. I encourage them to believe in themselves and to have the confidence to think differently, to do things differently and innovatively, whether that involves developing and designing new technologies that can be applied in cost-effective ways to change the day-to-day lives of their communities.

Whether it involves making their voices heard by offering input as to how to improve our educational system so that it is more responsive to the needs of students and more effective in teaching the information and skills necessary for our graduates to compete with their peers across the globe; or whether it involves being engaged in acts of social responsibility such as ensuring that the environment in our communities are conducive for human habitation.

Our young men and women can each, in their own way, become active partners in the creation of a better nation.

In this vein, I encourage everybody—male or female, young or old—to take ownership of this country of ours by limiting the voices of pessimism and negativity that seek to break us down as a society rather than build us up; the voices that try to sway us away from a conversation of constructive efforts and involvement and turn us toward a pattern of petty name-calling and baseless personal attacks.

Our growing democracy deserves more from us than that. And my fellow citizens, our country, whose independence and stability has been hard-earned, deserves more from us and from its politics than that.

I believe that Ghana, our great nation, has yet to see its greatest achievements. For all of our past successes and accomplishments which are praised the world over, I believe that the best we Ghanaians have to offer lies ahead of us, not behind us.

Given our ability to negotiate a potentially challenging but seamless political transition through the sterling performance of our democratic institutions- our Judiciary, Parliament, the Security services and a vibrant and largely responsible media –I am fully confident that greater success is within Ghana’s grasp and we shall continue to be a beacon of hope and pride to Africa and the world.

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our founding father, the first president of the republic, is famously quoted as saying, “We face neither East nor West. We face forward.”

My Brothers and Sisters, I want to thank you, once again, for the support that many of you gave to me, as President, during this difficult time. I want to thank you for the support that we gave to one another. Let us all continue to say our prayers for Professor Mills. Let our thoughts and prayers continue to be with his widow—Dr. Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills, his son, Kofi Atta Mills, and his entire family.

In the coming weeks and months, let us also continue to stand proud and united as we face forward to work together to create a thriving Ghana, one that is better, greater and stronger than it was before.

May God bless you, and May God continue to bless Ghana.

I thank you for your kind attention.

Source: The Presidency

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NPP Strikes Mahama: Cites Corrupt Deals

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Created on Thursday, 16 August 2012 00:00

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NPP Strikes Mahama: Cites Corrupt Deals

{sidebar id=11 align=right}The New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday welcomed President John Mahama into the hot seat of the presidency, raising a number of probing questions about his credibility.

The chairman of the party, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, who fired the first shot, discredited the now Mahama-Amissah-Arthur led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government since, in his opinion, they had nothing new to offer Ghanaians; insisting that with the two in the driving seat, “‘the value is the same”.

Within the relatively short period of his Presidency, the NPP Chairman said, “we in the NPP have cause to worry about the incompetence shown by President John Mahama,” citing him for complicity in issues of corruption, economic mismanagement, mismanagement of the cedi and a host of others.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra yesterday, Jake indicated that “the President’s own active involvement in some of the most scandalous contracts and loan agreements over the last few years mean that Ghanaians have more reasons now to worry about corruption than before.”

The press conference was held minutes after a delegation from the NDC, led by Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, general secretary of the party, had paid a surprise visit to the Asylum Down headquarters of the NPP, to thank them for their show of support during the funeral of the President John Evans Atta Mills.

Complicity

Jake said, “President John Mahama was the same man who, against all competent advice, signed us up to the allegedly most corrupt loan agreement ever contracted by any government of Ghana, the $10billion STX housing deal” in which Ghanaians were to be fleeced of $1.5billion for the construction of 30,000 flats, half of them single bedrooms.

The said deal, which was brokered by Mr. Mahama who was then Vice President, allowed the Korean company (Messrs STX) to walk away with a staggering $264million in the supposed ‘political risk insurance.’

The NPP said, “We still do not know where our sovereign guarantee is and the Korean partners are demanding $17million in court for no work done.”

The NPP Chairman added, “Mahama is also responsible for the acquisition of the Embraer 190 presidential jet, disguised as a military jet.”

A deal, he said, included what he described as ‘a ridiculously inflated price’ of $1million for a staircase, $1million for entertainment package and $17million for a hangar to park the plane.

{sidebar id=10 align=right}Similarly, the NPP accused the President of being the face of the NDC broken promises, having championed the supposed SADA project whose fate remained unknown.

What seemed to annoy the NPP Chairman and his lieutenants the most was not the fact that the concept was borrowed from the NPP’s plan to set up the Northern Development Authority but the fact that the promise of an initial start-up capital of GH¢200 million and a further GH¢100 million every year was neglected, just like the affordable housing project started by previous Kufuor-NPP administration.

The NPP, as an alternative government, strongly believed that “SADA and STX clearly epitomize headline projects championed by President John Mahama, which have failed,” insisting that “his presidency does not inspire any confidence that public funds are safe.”

Mismanagement

Furthermore, Jake said the fact that President Mahama, who was then the Vice President, led the Economic Management team that the late President Mills put in place to manage Ghana’s economy for more than three-and-a-half years, together with now Vice President Amissah-Arthur, who was then Governor of the Bank of Ghana, in charge of Monetary Policy, “shows that the same team that failed to deliver on the most important thing in our lives, the economy, are the same team who are in charge now”.

For this reason, the NPP chairman insisted that “President John Mahama and Vice President Amissah-Arthur are most responsible for the economic hardships that Ghanaians are suffering now” not because they only failed to manage the economy or deliver on the trust that President Mills had in them but also in view of the fact that “they failed the people of Ghana and cannot be trusted or expected to offer anything new”.

For the NPP, “nothing has changed with the coming into office of Mahama-Amissah Arthur’s uninspiring caretaker team”.

The main opposition has on behalf of Ghanaians appealed to the duo (President Mahama and his Vice) to “drive the nation gently, like a spare tyre, to the December general election for Ghanaians to hold their own referendum on the performance of this NDC government”.

Judgment Debt

The NPP accused the President of having a hand in dissipating the country’s already scanty resources into the payment of not only gargantuan but also fraudulent judgment debts to individuals and corporate institutions under strange and bizarre circumstances.

That, according to the Chairman of the party, was evident in the fact that “the President has also been part of an administration and indeed had oversight of the Ministry of Finance that doled out GH¢642 million in the payment of so-called judgment debts, with records showing that a majority of these payment were procured by fraudulent means and also through arbitrary settlements”.

He asked “Ghanaians want to know what President John Mahama is going to do differently about corruption to show he is committed to fighting corruption”.

Perhaps, the NPP said, “he can show his commitment by taking action against the likes of former Attorney General Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Deputy Attorney General Ebow Barton-Odro, Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor and other NDC functionaries implicated in this saga” whilst ensuring that the nation retrieved the GH¢51.2million ‘fraudulently’ paid to Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

For this and other reasons, the NPP said, “this election (2012) is about our future. It is about the performance of this third NDC government, and the incompetent, corrupt and uninspiring leadership they have provided; the gross mismanagement of the economy; the falling cedi with its inherent impact on trade, from big business to the street hawker; the rising cost of living; and the hypocrisy, lies, propaganda and broken promises”.

That, Jake said, was because “Ghana cannot afford to live under four more years of failure”, insisting that “what Ghana needs is leadership genuinely concerned for the people with the will and the capacity to increase the prosperity of its people”.

“Ours will not be a government of lies and propaganda, but of real action.

“Ghanaians are not expecting anything new from President John Mahama in the last few months of the NDC. He represents no real hope for the youth of this country in addressing things that matter to them most: education, skills, jobs and accommodation.

He has no new ideas for the struggling businessmen and women of Ghana. He gives the country anxiety rather than hope on the big issue of responsible management of public resources.

Ghanaians are worried because the economy is being handled in a manner reminiscent of the NDC’s mishandling of the economy in 2000. We do not need to return to HIPC status,” he concluded.

Source: Daily Guide

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The Amissah-Arthur Vetting Report

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The Amissah-Arthur Vetting Report

…The Full Text of The Observations, Recommendations, Findings & Conclusions of Appointments Committee of Parliament

“THE AMISSAH-ARTHUR VETTING REPORT”

IN THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE FIFTH PARLIAMENT OF THE FOURTH REPUBLIC OF GHANA

TWENTY-SIXTH REPORT OF THE APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE ON HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT’S NOMINATION FOR APPOINTMENT AS VICE PRESIDENT (6TH AUGUST, 2012)

*1.0 INTRODUCTION:

{sidebar id=11 align=right}His Excellency, Presidential John Dramani Mahama in a letter dated 1st August, 2012 communicated to Parliament for the approval of the nomination of Mr. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur for appointment as Vice President of the Republic of Ghana pursuant to Article 60 (10) of the Constitution.

In accordance with Order 172(2) of the Standing Orders of the House, the nomination was referred to the Appointments Committee for consideration and report.

The name of the nominee was subsequently published in the media in accordance with Standing Order 172(3). Memoranda were also invited from the public as part of the mechanism to ensure that the nominee satisfied the requirements of the Constitution.

*2.0 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS:

The following served as reference documents to the Committee during deliberations and public hearing of the nominees:

*1. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana

*2. Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana

*3. Curriculum Vitae of the nominee

*3.0 PROCEDURE:

On appearing before the Committee, the nominee subscribed to the oath of a witness and answered questions relating to his record of office, the position to which he has been nominated and issues of general national concern.

The Chairman of the Committee commenced the meeting by indicating that public hearing of a vice presidential nominee was unprecedented in the history of the country. The Committee therefore sought guidance from other jurisdictions, particularly the United States of America (USA).

The United States recorded 16 instances where the position of the vice president became vacant. He stated that the 25th Amendment to the American Constitution which was inspired by the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy, made provision for the nomination of Vice President to be approved by both Houses of Legislature. He stated that in 1973, when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned, President Nixon invoked the 25th Amendment and nominated Gerald Ford, then the House Republican Leader as Vice President.

Congress conducted a thorough investigation on the nominee and held public and in-camera hearings on the vice presidential nominee Gerald Ford. On August 9th 1974, Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon as President. This made Gerald Ford the only person ever to be Vice President and later President without being elected to either office.

The decision of the Appointments Committee to conduct its proceedings in public was therefore guided by the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana and the practices in jurisdictions such as USA.

The Chairman indicated that Order 172 vests in the Appointments Committee, the power to recommend for approval by Parliament, persons nominated by the President for appointment as Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers of States, the Chief Justice and other Justices of the Supreme Court and such other persons specified under the Constitution and other enactments.

Order 172(3) further enjoins the Committee to publish the names of such persons and the proceedings of the Committee held in public.

The Chairman noted that the Vice President was one of the persons so specified in the Constitution by virtue of article 60(10) and therefore the approval process aught to be held in public.

The position espoused by the Chairman was corroborated by the Ranking Member of the Committee who explained that the hearing of the nominee in public is in lieu of such scrutiny that would have ordinarily been exercised by the general public had the Vice President gone through normal elections as a Running Mate.

{sidebar id=12 align=right}He suggested further that the vetting process was to provide a baptism to the nominee that Parliament has oversight responsibility over the Executive; and as such, the platform was to indicate to the nominee that he will be required to submit to Parliament whenever it is required of him to do so.

*4.0 OBSERVATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS:

*Background:

Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur was born on 29th April, 1951 in Cape Coast, Central Region.

He attended Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast between 1963 and 1971 for his GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level certificates.

He was awarded a Bachelor of Science (Economics) Honors Degree and a Master of Science (Economics) from the University of Ghana, Legon in 1974 and 1980 respectively.

Mr. Amissah-Arthur started work as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana from 1974 to 1975. He was appointed a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Economics, University of Ghana, Legon from 1977 to 1978 and was in 1979 promoted to the position of an Assistant Lecturer.

Between 1980 and 1988, Mr. Amissah-Arthur worked as a lecturer at the Department of Economics, University of Ghana. He also lectured at the Department of Economics, Anambra State College of Education, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria from August, 1981 to July 1983.

The nominee has held several positions. These include Special Assistant to the PNDC Secretary for Finance and Economic Planning from 1983 to January, 1986, Deputy PNDC Secretary for Finance and Economic Planning from February, 1986 to March 1993, and Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning from 1993 to March 1997.

Between 1997 and 2008, the nominee worked for various organizations (both Government Agencies and Non-Governmental Agencies) as a consultant. As part of his consultancy work, he assisted Sigma One Corporation on the Ghana Trade and Investment Reform Project aimed at enhancing Ghana’s export competitiveness from July 1998 to June 2000. He also assisted the Community Water and Sanitation Agency from 2003 to 2008 to develop their Strategic Investment Plan.

The Nominee has served on several Boards and Committees. He served as a Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank (1986-1991) and also served on the Agricultural Policy Coordinating Committee (Cabinet’s Advisory Committee) as the Chairman. He further served as the Chairman of the Board of the Ghana International Bank, London, UK from 2009 till his nomination as Vice President.

Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has served as the Governor of the Bank of Ghana since October 2009 to date.

*Citizenship:

The nominee confirmed to the Committee that he is a citizen of Ghana by birth.

*Background Checks:

The Chairman informed the nominee and Members that a background check had been done on the nominee. The Criminal Investigations Department of the Police Service reported that they had no criminal record on the nominee. The Bureau of National Investigations reported that the nominee had not come to “security notice”. The nominee is a registered voter and has obtained a tax clearance certificate from the Ghana Revenue Authority.

Also, as at the time of public hearing, no petition had been received by the Committee on his nomination.

*Concurrent lecturing in Ghana and Nigeria:

{sidebar id=10 align=right}The nominee explained that when he decided to sojourn to Nigeria in 1981, he was advised by the University to put in a resignation with a promise that he could return to the University without counting the period of resignation. He said in 1983 when the University was re-opened, he returned to teach at the University whilst serving as a Special Assistant to the PNDC Secretary and later as Deputy Secretary of Finance.

The nominee continued to lecture at the University of Ghana despite his political appointments until the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution when he formally resigned.

As to whether he drew different salaries in his double role as a political appointee and a lecturer, the nominee stated that as a Deputy PNDC Secretary, he opted to take his salary at the University of Ghana since at that time, the PNDC secretaries were paid allowances which were far inferior to the salaries offered by the University.

*View on the State of the Economy:

As to whether in view of the rising prices of items in the market and the rapid depreciation of the Cedi, he was happy with the current state of the Ghanaian economy, Mr. Amissah-Arthur stated that despite these factors, the economy had also chalked some successes and cited for instance that the non-oil economy has seen growth in excess of 8% for the past 2 years.

He averred that whilst the prices of a few particular commodities may have gone up, the rate of increase of prices of most items have been relatively slow, resulting in the country recording single digit inflation for the past two years.

*Advice on the Economy:

Portions of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) were read to the nominee after which he was asked to name one advice he gave to government that helped to save the cedi from depreciating.

The nominee explained that the Bank of Ghana is in charge of managing the monetary policy and therefore did not just give advice to the government but actually took decisions and steps to secure the value of the Cedi. He attributed the fall in the value of the Cedi to pressures from imports which have doubled over the last two (2) years.

*Dollar withdrawal:

The nominee informed the Committee that the Bank of Ghana, in its anti money-laundering drive, has given directives to commercial banks to ensure that over the counter withdrawals of dollars are limited. Also, the Bank’s requirement that financial institutions maintain a cedi equivalent reserve in respect of dollar deposits held has caused some of the institutions to charge a minimal percentage on counter withdrawals of dollars.

*Woyome saga:

Mr. Amissah-Arthur was referred to the Woyome scandal and asked why the Bank of Ghana of which he was the governor paid such substantial amount to the businessman when the late President had instructed that the money was not to be paid. The outgoing Governor of the Central Bank stated that the Bank of Ghana did not receive any instructions from the President not to make the payment. He further explained to the Committee that the Bank of Ghana is a banker to the government and therefore if there is credit on the account of the account holder (government), the Bank cannot refuse to pay upon the presentation of a valid instrument.

*Onward Investment Company:

The Vice President-Designate informed the Committee that two suits have been instituted against the Central Bank in respect of the case of Onward Investment Company which the Central Bank closed down without depositors getting their deposits back. He informed the Committee that he was apprehensive about providing further details because of the court case. Notwithstanding, he explained that the bank would strongly contest the case since the Bank never issued any license to that company. To him, all the Central Bank did was to secure the interest of the public by ensuring that the company did not continue to perpetuate the illegality.

*Currency Exchange Rate and Elections:

The Nominee confirmed the assertion that every election year, the country experiences some economic instability, saying that the best example in recent times was 2004. He said the Cedi has experienced significant depreciation this year probably because the country’s import bill almost doubled this year. He assured the Committee that mechanisms have been put in place, including calling on reserves and this has led to the deceleration of the depreciation.

*Interest Rate Disparities:

Honourable Members wanted to know what was accounting for the wide disparities between the Bank of Ghana policy rate and the commercial banks’ lending rate; and also between the commercial banks’ lending rates and deposit rates. To this, the nominee explained that when he took office as governor, he found that the disparities were very wide, so as a first step, the Bank decided to inform the public about the interest rates being charged by various banks so as to enable consumers to shop around. He indicated that a new formula has been established by the Central Bank within which financial institutions in the country would be required to model their interest rates. He promised that in due course, the public would feel the impact of the formula.

*Intra-party opposition to his nomination:

It was suggested to the nominee that the voices of opposition to his nomination as Vice President coming from within the National Democratic Congress was a result of “indiscipline”. Responding, Mr. Amissah-Arthur stated that the situation was a matter of “plurality” rather than indiscipline. He expressed contentment about serving as Vice President for the remainder of the President’s term saying that even one day in that position is “a great honour”. He pledged to work diligently to assist the President to prosecute his mandate.

*Allegations on Sexuality:

The nominee’s attention was drawn to some media publications which sought to cast insinuations on his sexuality. The Vice President-Designate therefore took the opportunity to emphatically deny such allegation and insinuation, blaming it on some former school mate who wanted to extort money from him through such blackmail. He stated that a critical analysis of his residences and household history would indicate clearly that the publications were mere fabrications.

*Vault Break-In:

The nominee was asked whether upon assumption of office as Governor of the Central Bank, he found any of the vaults broken into and moneys and gold bars stolen, he simply responded “never” and further added that no gold bullions or bars had disappeared from the Bank. He explained that the Bank has very high security which makes all public assets kept there, including the State Sword, very safe.

*WAMZ Convergence Criteria:

It was put to the nominee that whilst Ghana had done well in the primary convergence criteria for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) (by achieving 3 out of 4 of the primary criteria), the country had not done so well in the secondary criteria where only 1 out of the 6 criteria has been achieved currently.

The nominee expressed the view that there should be more commitment to the convergence process, if that’s what the countries want to do. He quickly added that he gets the sense that some of the countries are getting concerned about the whole WAMZ arrangement. His personal idea was that it may not be the best thing to do for now, given the experiences of other blocs such as the Eurozone.

*5.0 CONCLUSION:

The Appointments Committee has carried out its duty diligently in accordance with the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House with respect to the nomination of Mr. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur for appointment as Vice President of the Republic of Ghana. The Committee is satisfied that the Mr. Amissah-Arthur has fully met the requirements of the Constitution and therefore respectively recommends his nomination to the House for approval by consensus.

Respectfully submitted.

……………………………

HON. EDWARD DOE ADJAHO FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER AND CHAIRMAN APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE

………………………………

ALHAJI IBRAHIM GOMBILLA DEPUTY CLERK TO PARLIAMENT 6TH AUGUST, 2012

Source: New Crusading Guide/Ghana

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